Continuous As the Stars that Shine
by High-Functioning Free Elf
Summary: This is my first published fan-fiction, about a mermaid who came to live on land and find love, as mermaids are want to do, and meets Captain Hook! Well, eventually, anyway. It is much slower in coming than I anticipated. But keep faith! Hook will arrive, in all his pirate glory! I hope you enjoy the first chapter of my story, constructive criticism welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Annelle was rather normal. At least, as normal as she could be, taking into account that she was a mermaid. She had white hair, though she was only sixteen years of age. She was about five six. She had a nice smile when she showed it, and two blue-green eyes that made you feel like you were staring into the depths of the sea. Rather appropriate, considering the mermaid thing.

She is alive today, though she first lived back in the sixteenth century, when pirates roamed the seas. The story I am to tell takes place when she took up abode in Jamestown. No, not the famous one. Jamestown of the Caicos Islands, a bustling seaport that she picked because no one would notice one more girl, or so she thought.

Annelle was a very smart girl, or mermaid I should say. She loved books with a passion, she read anything she could get her hands on. Her intelligence and sheer dumb luck landed her a job as a bookshop owner's assistant. She excelled at it, she could have easily taken a better job but she did not wish to draw more attention to herself. Her hair brought quite enough.

Of course, Annelle never told anyone what she was. Such a move would be a grievous mistake that she never intended to make. Mermaids were wanted back then. Wanted by the British Navy, and also any man, merchant or pirate, who sailed the seven seas. A curious fact about mermaids that seems to have been forgotten in all other fairy tales, each mermaid has two gifts. One is common to all, the ability to make music. Every mermaid can sing or play, most famous female musicians were secretly mermaids. But the other gift is different. There are three different powers other than music, and each mermaid receives one. The first is the ability to control the water. Depending on her skill and raw power, a mermaid with this gift may calm a raging storm; or she may only be able to cause the waves to lap a little higher on the shore. The second gift is controlling the wind. Again, the results vary, from a mighty gale wind to a small puff of air that is about as strong as a butterfly's wings. The third gift is an extension of music. With this gift, a mermaid knows every song ever sung. Past, present, and future. She knows every song, from a pirate chant that echoed over the waves of the Atlantic, to the small ditty a child warbled out on a whim. It is a beautiful gift, but it is not as useful as the other two.

Now I am sure you are wondering, what is Annelle's gift? Annelle was a very special case. Never before had a mermaid like Annelle been born in the Queen's palace. As soon as her hair touched the salty water it bled to white, and her eyes opened. Normally a mermaid child does not open her eyes for three weeks, it gives time for the inner eyelid to solidify. But Annelle did not care to wait, she wanted to see everything. Her mother, the Queen herself, was quite startled by this. What would the people think? Would this endanger her reign? Should the oddity be kept secret? Her questions were answered as follows, "Annelle is a wonderful princess, no, and no."

The citizens of Atlanta (not the one in Georgia) loved Annelle. Everywhere she went people hailed her, not once in her life had she seen someone frown at her, or scowl their disapproval of the princess. Annelle was always doing something to help others, to brighten their lives. If she was not cleaning an elderly mermaid's house or volunteering as a nurse or babysitting rowdy mermaid children while their mothers rested, she was reading.

Annelle had an insatiable appetite for books. She could not read paper books of course, she once tried to. The ink bled right out of the page and into the water, staining her brand new blouse. No, Annelle had to read mermaid books. They were printed on pulped kelp, much as we pulp trees. The ink was squid ink, taken above water to be mixed with special chemicals so it would not float off the page. No one knows exactly how mermaids print their books. It has something to do with puffer fish and seahorses, but that is about all we know. Back to Annelle.

Annelle loved all books, from Augustine's _Confessions_ to Shakespeare, and everything in between. She read mermaid authors too, of course, but they only published books of songs. All of her allowance (which was a rather hefty sum, she was, after all, a princess) went to books. She also greatly enjoyed human newspapers. She paid good money for each weeks issue of the _Jamestown Inquirer_ to be copied and printed after mermaid fashion. Annelle was the only mermaid who kept up on human matters, or "surface business" as it was called. This was the only facet of her being that others found peculiar, even startling,

"She's a good girl, after all, but she always seems to be wanting to learn about humans."

"Why, she even knows the date! I hear she keeps careful track. Just to be sure she never misses one of those 'newspaper' things."

"I'm sure she'll grow out of it, maybe when she goes to the surface herself she'll see it's nothing to be overexcited about."

Those are a sampling of what was often said about her, but she never knew. Not even the biggest gossiper of Atlanta, one Pearl Shelley, ever let slip to Annelle what was said about her. They all loved the mermaid princess too much.

Annelle was not the oldest, of course. That unwanted honor fell to Delaine, Annelle eldest sister, heir to the throne. Delaine would be a great ruler when it was her time. She already looked like a queen, with her long, light green hair, ice blue eyes, and impeccable makeup and clothing. You can not really explain Delaine, she was something of a mix between a loving mother and a battle-hardened general. Stern but kind, unyielding yet understanding, rebuking but supportive. That is Delaine, as best as I can render her.

Annelle never wanted the throne. The responsibility of ruling the mermaid city was far too much for her, she would have no freedom. Annelle needed freedom, she loved the feeling of water rippling through her hair as she raced with dolphins, or the quiet solitude of a book in her favorite kelp forest. No amount of power could give her the satisfaction that her liberty gave.

All during Annelle's childhood and teenage years she had researched the surface. Every aspect fascinated her, from Oriental tea ceremonies to the latest London fashions. At first Annelle's mother and three sisters thought she was simply a child looking forward to finding love on the surface, as all mermaids do, and that was part of it. But it grew to so much more. Annelle did indeed start as a child in love with the idea of love. She researched that first, reading romantic books and attending performances of songs that told the stories of lovers. But she looked a little deeper. Annelle was intelligent, she soon realized that there was more to love and life outside her watery home than these books and songs told her. She soon started ordering new books, in hopes of finding the real truth behind the flowery words and staged drama of her previous reads.

She did indeed find the truth, and it was not what she imagined.

Love was hard.

That was the culmination of nearly a year and a half of research. That one sentence summarized well over three dozen books, twenty-two different newspaper columns, and a collection of seven scientific journals.

But Annelle did not stop there. In the year and a half that she had searched for knowledge, she had become accustomed to the scholarly pursuit. So she kept it up. She broadened her reading habits to include the sciences and mathematics. She also procured every nautical book she could, sailing ships fascinated her. By the time Annelle was fifteen years of age, she had mastered all fields of study known to man. But she still was not satisfied.

You see, Annelle had mastered everything in her books, but she had never experienced it. She had never been able to debate political theory in Parliment, she had never been able to discourse with great minds the theories of science and biology, she had never been able to visit the great schools of mathematics that she had read so much about, and worst of all, she had never seen the stars. She had charts of course, but she had never gazed at their beauty with her own eyes. She had never sailed on a ship, using the stars to guide herself. That was the reason Annelle so desperately wanted the surface. She had learned everything of it, but she had never _experienced _it. But do not worry, Annelle's time will come.

Another fact that seems to have escaped the notice of storytellers is that when a mermaid turns sixteen, she may go up on land and gain legs instead of a tail. The purpose of this is to find a husband among humans. You may wonder why I said "husband", why would a mermaid need to wed? No one knows why, but a simple mermaid marriage ceremony MUST take place, or the mermaid will lose her legs forever. Now that I have told you all you need of Annelle's backstory, I shall begin the real tale (pun intended) of Annelle.

Annelle's sixteenth birthday had finally come. She was barely able to sleep the night before, tossing and turning in her coral bed. When she was finally able to catch some sleep, she dreamed of stars. That was what really excited her, not the prospect of finding love, but the prospect of finally seeing the stars! Annelle awoke very early, no one else in the palace was awake yet. She immediately dressed in her ceremonial clothing, a white dress that came to her ankles, simple but elegant. It was made of a material that would dry quickly when she exited the water, so as not to draw attention to herself.

After dressing and carefully applying a tastefully small amount of makeup, Annelle went to her ceremonial final class. It was a tradition among mermaids to have one final hour of wisdom from a favorite teacher before one went on land. Annelle chose Delaine, who had taught her Proper Courtroom Etiquette 101, to spend her last hour with. After Delaine finished giving her own sagacity, Annelle would leave for the surface. There would be no goodbyes to anyone else, not even her mother. Delaine alone would see Annelle fall apart in front of her.

"Delaine, I'm not sure I can do this!" half-shouted Annelle, doing a mermaid version of pacing in front of Delaine's chair. "What if I mess up? What if I'm captured by the British? What if-" she broke off, stopping her pacing, "what if the stars aren't what I imagined?" she barely whispered that, as if saying it aloud would cause the very thing to occur. That was her greatest fear, really. She was not afraid that she would not find love, she was not afraid of pirates, nor the Navy, nor any man on the sea who could do her wrong. She was scared, no, _terrified_ that the stars she had read so much about and looked forward to so much, would be less than beautiful.

"They will be wonderful, Annelle. You have read, what, dozens of accounts of their grandeur? Are there not detailed writings on their place and movement? Have you not multiple times forcibly read to me scientific papers on what exactly a star is?" countered Delaine, her volume rising a bit with each point. Surely her sister would see sense. Annelle was no moron, but she often worried so much about such small things. She needed to see a bigger picture.

"Yes Delaine, I have. But what if the accounts were exaggerated? Or perhaps mermaid and human eyes perceive things differently, and what looks like 'great diamonds aflame in the sky' to a human simply looks like an angler fish's antennae to me?" there was a plaintive tone to Annelle's voiced. Delaine's features noticeably softened, taking in her younger sister's real dilemma. Wordlessly, Delaine gathered Annelle into her arms.

"What if none of it is what I dreamed? What if I come to the surface and it's so alien I can't stay?" Annelle said, burying her face into Delaine's shoulder.

"You are basing your opinon of the surface on 'what-if's', little sister. If you do that, all you will ever do is worry. One should always plan ahead, but one should never worry ahead. It only causes grief." Delaine really was destined to be queen. No one could ever do as wonderful a job as she would. Annelle took comfort at her words, drawing herself up and backing a tiny bit away from Delaine, looking her in the eye.

"Thank you sister. In this last hour I have learned much, and I want you to know that not a day will go by that I will not think of you. I love you." As she said those last words, she hugged Delaine tightly. Pain welled up in her chest, threatening to overspill. How could she leave her family? But it must be done. Mermaids have an intuitive sense of time till they are sixteen. Ask any mer-child barely able to talk and she will tell you exactly how many days till she is sixteen. It all culminated in that year. Once, a mermaid had decided not to go to the surface on her birthday. She chained herself by the tail and hid the key so no one would free her. She went insane within the week, threatening death and wailing such terrible sounds that the queen had been forced to order the unfortunate girl's execution. Mermaids had no insane asylums, before that day there had been no need. No, Annelle would have to go now. Her hour was up, she could tell. She pulled away from Delaine, smiling at her one last time before swimming out the circular door and into the waiting waters.

Annelle immediately started swimming up. That is what she had been told to do, just swim upwards till you break the surface. After that she was to wait for nightfall and swim to shore under cover of darkness. Simple enough. As Annelle swam upwards she soon breached the thermocline and felt very hot until her body adjusted to the new temperatures. It would still take some getting used to, these warm waters. Everyone said the surface was even hotter. _Some getting used to indeed_ she thought. As Annelle glided upwards she paid close attention to the fish around, but never stopped to observe more closely. There were many species she had never seen before, and most of them were quite colorful. So engrossed was she in the colorations and bodies of the fish around her that she did not even notice her head bursting out above the waves until she automatically gasped for breath.

It felt odd, breathing through her mouth instead of through gills. As Annelle turned about, taking in the strange scene around her, she learned that, unlike gills, lungs were directly controlled. Interesting. Another interesting point, she saw land. It was about a mile away, so she set off for it. She skimmed a dozen feet beneath the surface, not wanting to draw any attention.

As Annelle swiftly closed in on the land, she noticed how light a blue the water was. So different from the inky blackness from Atlanta. Down there the mermaids needed lamps of glowing magical pearls to see. It was nice not needing them. The concept of a large glowing ball in the sky was still rather strange though. What if it suddenly went out? _I suppose everyone would die.. _Annelle continued this rather morbid line of thought for a while, but she soon gave it up for a much more pressing matter. _The water is turning black._ For a second she thought her dark fantasies had come true, and the sun really was going out. But she quickly remembered that it was natural. It would be nighttime soon, the stars would be out.

They were beautiful. Nothing would ever compare to those thousands of twinkling gems in the sky, shining like light from heaven through a sieve. As Annelle floated, staring at the sky, her resolves strengthened. There was no need to be afraid anymore. As long as there were stars that shine, she would carry on. Nothing would ever stop her.

We'll see if that holds true or not.


	2. Chapter 2

Annelle finally managed to tear herself away from the stars. She had to get to land while darkness lasted. She quickly closed the short gap to land, finally coming to rest in the shallows. As she lifted herself out of the water, she felt a most curious sensation, like kelp tickling her fins. Fins? She had two lower appendages now. She experimented with them, lifting and kicking to see how they worked. Thoroughly satisfied that she could control her new legs perfectly, she stood up, took a step forward, and promptly fell on her face. This will take some getting used to. Using a nearby rock for support, she got to her feet and walked the perimeter of the boulder several times. Tentitavely, with very small steps, she inched away from the boulder. She stumbled a few times, but she soon got the hang of it. After mastering the art of walking, Annelle took out the mermaid map of the coast she had brought in her small shoulder bag. She soon identified her position using a few landmarks on the map. "If I go.. west.. through this pass.. I'll arrive at this 'Jamestown'." she muttered, turning the map this way and that. She set off for Jamestown, moving slowly to avoid anymore unfortunate spills. She soon found the human world was dirtier than her books had made it out to be, she had to stop to wash herself twice. Annelle marched for hours, crossing a plain, skirting a set of low-lying hills, and meandering through the hem of a large, smelly bog. Her feet grew sore, and her hands soon became raw and inflamed from breaking her numerous falls. She finally caved and set up camp, nestling herself in a bed of dried leaves inside a hollow tree. She barely had time to register how uncomfortable the ground was before she dropped off into a deep sleep; stars winking through the velvety blackness of her dreams. The next day rose bright and hot, if not for the gentle breeze that played through her hair Annelle would have been stifled. She plod on till noon, encountering no one but a few harmless animals. At noon she crested a hill and had her first look at a human city. Jamestown was a bustling seaport, with many docks trailing out of the small crescent shaped bay like wooden fingers. It wasn't a tall town, the highest building was a handsome stone mansion opposite the bay, the governor's home. Jamestown was made entirely of wood, stone, and thatch. The stone was mainly concentrated near the bay, To keep from floating away in a flood. Annelle thought. The farther away from the sea you got, the flimsier the buildings became. The poorest dwellings were halfway between the governor's mansion and the sea. Even from a mile away Annelle could tell that section was squalid, the buildings small and wretched. It appeared almost black from soot and dirt, the streets were packed earth instead of cobblestones like the rest of the town. Note to self, stay away from the center of town. After the filth of the middle area, the upscale homes and marketplace clustered around the mansion seemed glorious. They too were made of stone, with gabled roofs and and long windows. A long wall encircled the wealthy of Jamestown, keeping them, and their precious shopping district, safe. A stone garrison was built into the wall, she could see the red of British uniforms and the glint of silver buttons outside the barracks. I'll have to stay away from that too. Perhaps I should look into buying a wig.. Annelle started down the gentle, grassy decline of the hill; being very careful not to fall and dirty herself before entering town. She pondered her future as she walked. What will I do? Mother said I'm wearing a dress like a lady's everyday wear, I could head into the nice section of town without drawing attention to myself. But those soldiers.. I'll have to risk it. Delaine said I would do well working in a "bookshop", I'll try to find one of those. Annelle soon realized she would look suspicious walking into the good section of town from the poor, so she circled left towards the city gates. She came upon the dirt road leading to the city in one of the rare moments in which it was empty. Jamestown looked even more impressive up close, the large gate was set into intricate carvings, and two large stone lions gaurded the entrance. As Annelle plodded onwards, more people flooded in around her. They were mostly merchants, all dressed in clothes that were neither rich nor poor. They all seemed to think her a lady by her clothes, they gave her a bubble of personal space and tipped their caps to her. She inclined her head as Delaine had intructed, her natural mermaid grace giving her a bearing she could never had faked. To the people around her she appeared to be a well-bred lady, reentering the city after a mid-morning walk. Annelle's nervousness grew as she approached the gates. Two soldiers in red flanked the entrance, would they detain her? She soon passed between them, hands clasped in front of her to keep from gave her no notice, they barely seemed to register her prescence. She heaved a great sigh of relief, which she quickly stifled for fear of the guards noticing. They did not, they both seemed asleep on their feet, staring into space with blank expressions. Annelle turned away and started towards the towering stone visage of the governor's mansion. Annelle found Jamestown to be noisy, crowded, and obnoxiously colorful. In other words, she loved it. She practically danced down the marketplace, taking in every little detail. There were flower shops that practically burst with white lilies, many-colored tulips, and perky purple orchids, fabric stalls that housed more colors than Annelle had ever dreamed could exist, bakeries that gave off such wonderful smells she felt she could have stayed forever, spice shops with herbs so strong Annelle could not smell anything else till she reached the end of the street, and at the end of that street she found her first bookshop. The door to the shop was propped open by a large rock, letting the early summer breeze sweep in. The floor was of light brown wood, clean and shining. The shelves were of the same material, as was the counter behind which a smiling, elderly lady stood. But what really grabbed Annelle's attention were the books. Every available inch was crammed with books, new books with squeaky covers, old books with leather jackets so worn they shone, and small paperback novels, the like of which Annelle had never seen before. Suddenly nervous, she approached the kind-looking woman behind the counter. She looked to be in her early sixties, her hair as white as Annelle's but not as thick. Her face was almost devoid of wrinkles, except around her eyes, where many lines streaked away from the corners and arked down to her cheekbones, giving the impression of a long but happy life. The hands clasped on top of the counter were clean and well manicured, as was the worn but neat peach dress the woman wore. She smiled even wider at Annelle, and asked in a sweet but not patronizing voice, "How may I help you, dear?" Annelle was surprised at her voice, it was deeper than she imagined. "I.. I was looking about the marketplace for a job, and I happened across your shop. You don't happen to have a position open, do you?" she was suddenly painfully aware of how idiotic that sounded. Oh, I was just looking around and thought you, a complete stranger, might have a job for me! But the woman didn't appear judgemental in the least. Annelle was quie shocked by her answer. "As a matter of fact, I do. My previous assistant married only last week, and she moved away to Barbados. Barbados! Can you imagine? And I find myself running a bookshop while barely being able to read anything, on account of my eyes," she added, noting Annelle's puzzled expression, "I could very much use another set of hands and eyes around here, but of course I'll need to know a bit more about you first. I don't even know your name yet." Annelle's eyes widened. It all seemed so easy. "My name is Anna, ma'am. Anna Marine." Annelle curtsied perfectly, smiling back at the elderly woman. "And I am Francis Darcy, pleased to meet you Anna, if I may call you that." "Pleased to meet you, Madame Darcy." Mrs. Darcy was quite charmed by Annelle, and thought it must be some sort of mistake that such a handsome young woman came into her shop at such a wonderful time. "How old are you, Anna?" "Sixteen, Madame. But my sister often says I act more like twenty." "Have you ever had a job before?" Annelle winced slightly. "No Madame, but I learn quickly." Mrs. Darcy nodded, unconcerned. Bookeeping was a job you could only be prepared for by experience in the job itself. "What are your hobbies?" "I enjoy reading a great deal, that's what brought me to your shop in the first place." "Are you in love?" That question rather shocked Annelle, until she remembered Mrs. Darcy's last assistant had left for love. "No Madame, but I hope to be eventually." Mrs. Darcy's smile widened. "Don't we all, Anna. Where are you currently living?" Annelle groaned inwardly. What could she say? "Well, I really just came into town, I haven't found a place ye-" but Mrs. Darcy didn't let her finish, "That's perfect! There's an upper room for the owner, but I can't climb steps any longer, my hip you know," she added in a lower tone, like it was a great secret, "so you may have it, if you wish." Annelle almost choked, she had been sure she wouldn't find a job this soon. "You mean I can have the position, Madame?" "Yes of course! I know intelligence when I see it, Anna, and it comes off of you in waves like surf. Now, when would you like to begin?" Annelle's heart fluttered with anticipation. So many books! "Would right now be alright?" Mrs. Darcy smiled again. "I had a feeling you would say that, dear." She walked out from behind the counter and began showing Annelle the shop. A full week later, and Annelle felt happier than she had ever been. Mrs. Darcy was the best employer one could hope for, she was kind, understanding, and was never cross. Annelle was indeed a quick learner, by the end of the month she was almost running the store by herself, and enjoying every minute of it. There were times, of course, in the night, when she cried for home, but she never let that go in the day. Only at night. It was June 22nd, 1682, when Annelle met Benjamin Darcy. 


End file.
